VZCZCXRO3710
OO RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #4239/01 3351131
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 011131Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2651
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 024239 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCUL KOLY SOCI CH
SUBJECT: MFA ANNOUNCES RELAXED RULES FOR FOREIGN MEDIA  FOR 
BEIJING OLYMPICS 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  Foreign journalists will not need host 
organizations or permission from provincial foreign 
affairs offices to conduct news gathering activities 
in China during the period surrounding the 2008 
Beijing Olympics, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
spokesman Liu Jianchao announced at a special press 
conference December 1.  Liu presented the new rules in 
introducing State Council Order No. 477, which covers 
all foreign media activity in connection with the 
Games.  The order takes effect January 1, 2007 and 
expires on October 17, 2008, Liu said.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Full text of the State Council Order No. 477 as it 
appears on the Xinhua News Agency web site in English: 
 
Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by 
Foreign Journalists During the Beijing Olympic Games 
and the Preparatory Period 
 
Article 1:  These regulations are formulated to 
facilitate reporting activities carried out in 
accordance with the laws of the People's Republic of 
China by foreign journalists in China to advance and 
promote the Olympic Spirit during the Beijing Olympic 
Games and the preparatory period. 
 
Article 2:  These regulations apply to reporting 
activities carried out by foreign journalists covering 
the Beijing Olympic Games and related matters in China 
during the Beijing Olympic Games and the preparatory 
period.  The Beijing Games mentioned in the 
regulations refer to the 29th Olympic Games and the 
13th Paralympic Games. 
 
Article 3:  Foreign journalists who intend to come to 
China for reporting should apply for visas at Chinese 
embassies, consulates or other visa-issuing 
institutions authorized by the Minsitry of Foreign 
Affairs of China.  Foreign journalists who hold valid 
Olympic Identity and Accreditation Cards and 
Paralympic Identity and Accreditation Cards are 
entitled to multiple entries into the territory of the 
People's Republic of China with visa exemption by 
presenting Olympic Identity and Accreditation Cards, 
together with valid passports or other travel 
documents. 
 
Article 4:  Foreign journalists may bring a reasonable 
quantity of reporting equipment into China duty free 
for their own use.  The aforementioned equipment 
should be shipped out of China's territory at the end 
of their reporting activities.  To bring into China 
reporting equipment duty free for their own use, 
foreign journalists should apply for the Equipment 
Confirmation Letter at Chinese embassies or consulates 
and present the Equipment Confirmation Letter together 
with a J-2 visa when going through customs inspection. 
Foreign journalists who hold Olympic Identity and 
Accreditation Cards and Paralympic Identity and 
Accreditation Cards may present the Equipment 
Confirmation Letter issued by the Organizing Committee 
of the 29th Olympic Games when going through customs 
inspection. 
 
Article 5:  For reporting needs, foreign journalists 
may, on a temporary basis, bring in, install and use 
radio communication equipment after completing the 
required application and approval procedures. 
 
Article 6:  To interview organizations or individuals 
in China, foreign journalists need only to obtain 
their prior consent. 
 
Article 7:  Foreign journalists may, through 
organizations providing services to foreign nationals, 
hire Chinese citizens to assist them in their 
reporting activities. 
 
Article 8:  The media guide for foreign journalists of 
the Beijing Olympics shall be formulated by the 
Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games in 
accordance with these regulations. 
 
Article 9:  These regulations shall come into force as 
of January 1, 2007 and expire on October 17, 2008. 
 
¶3.  Liu added that reporters who come to China on a 
 
BEIJING 00024239  002 OF 002 
 
 
temporary basis no longer need a local host 
organization.  They also will not need the consent of 
local Foreign Affairs Offices (FAO) to report in the 
provinces, including Xinjiang and Tibet.  Instead, 
reporters only need the prior consent of the 
individual or organization they want to interview, and 
this agreement can be written or verbal.  Liu stated 
that the new rules will take precedence where there is 
overlap or conflict with the 1990 regulations on 
foreign journalists and added that reporters are 
welcome to report on a variety of political, economic 
and social issues in China.  Liu declined to discuss 
why the order will expire in October 2008. 
 
¶4.  The MFA and relevant organizations will take 
concrete measures to educate all local government 
organs on the letter and spirit of the new regulations 
so that officials do not interfere with the reporting 
activities of foreign journalists, Liu said.  He added 
that if "practical problems in local implementation 
arise," the foreign journalists who are affected 
should contact the MFA for assistance.  Local 
officials may, however, restrict foreign reporters' 
news gathering in cases where there are disturbances 
of public order or emergencies.  Liu said foreign 
journalists may take pictures of such incidents in 
public areas that are normally unrestricted to foreign 
nationals and as long as the people photographed "are 
not offended." 
 
¶5.  The State Council will soon consider issues 
related to the status of reporters from Hong Kong and 
Macau who will come to the Mainland to cover the 
Olympics, Liu related. 
Randt